A Rustic Spanish Dish

If you live in my neck of the woods you know that Summer continues to linger and Fall is working hard to make itself known. 

Fall is my favorite time of year - beautiful trees, apple cider, pumpkin everything and cool, crisp weather. I love hoodies, tights, sweaters, sweatshirts and fires in the fireplace. Spiced Chai, and warm soups and stews. The only downside - putting the garden to bed. 

To be honest, this year rivals last year with respect to harvest and critters. We’ve had amazing cucumbers, tomatoes, greens, herbs, kale, collard greens, cauliflower, pepper (poblano, red, yellow,banana and green), broccoli and beans. Still to come; brussels sprouts, squash (buttercup, butternut and acorn) last count about 15. One pleasant surprise - watermelon at last count we have 6 - 4 will definitely mature and we’ll eat them, other two - not sure - but hey 4 watermelon is better than none right?

On Sunday the weather was cooler and I wanted to make a simple yet warming dish that used up some of the tomato bounty so I opted for a Spanish beans and tomatoes and for good measure I added a couple handfuls of spinach and some olives. The prep time for this dish is about 10 minutes and cook time 25 so dinner in 35 minutes leaves you lots of time to clean up the kitchen and spend the rest of the evening curled up with your favorite book.

I found the base recipe at https://veggiedesserts.co.uk/spanish-beans-tomatoes/

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika 

1 Tbsp or more siracha (to taste)

2 x 400ml/14oz cans butter beans (lima beans), drained and rinsed

chopped fresh tomatoes - enough to fill 2 butter bean cans

Sea salt and black pepper

2 large handfuls spinach, roughly chopped

10 - 12 green olives - sliced in half

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the onions and fry, stirring continuously, for 3-5 minutes until translucent but not browned. Add the garlic, paprika and siracha and fry for a further minute. Add the beans and tomatoes. Stir to combine, add the olives and season with salt and pepper. Stir well and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes, checking regularly so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. As it finishes, stir the spinach through to wilt.

Serve hot or cold, as tapas or a side dish, sprinkled with the fresh parsley.